Cabinet for stores and shops.



A. B. COUGH.

CABINET FOR STORES AND SHOPS.

APPLICATION FILEDSEPTJSI I916- RENEWED JULY 5, I9I8.

1,291,420. Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

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WITED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

' ADONIRAM BIRD COUGH, F ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO ELISHA M. BEVINS, OF ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

Application filed September 23, 1916, Serial No. 121,868. Renewed July 5, 1918. Serial No. 243,465.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ADONIRAM B. COUGH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Arlington, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Cabinets for Stores and Shops, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

I have for some considerable time observed that, in provision stores devoted particularly to canned and packaged goods, and in which but one or two clerks were employed, there is a loss of time involved in going from shelf to shelf in filling orders, which in the aggregate amounts to many days a year.

This loss, in the case of concerns having numerous branches, totals an especially large sum, but onewhich I am endeavoring to negative by this invention.

To this end, my invention consists of an.

elongated cabinet containing many longitudinally disposed can and package containers having means whereby the cans and packages are constantly maintained at an end of the cabinet in convenient reach of the attendant. This cabinet is of especial value in self-service stores, that is, those wherein the customer waits upon himself, inasmuch as it enables goods to be grouped into a small space, and thereby enables a great saving to be effected in floor-space and consequently in overhead costs of rent, light, heating and the like.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a side view illustrative of the means for manually feeding the packaged goods. Fig. 3 .is a perspective detail view of parts of the same shown on a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the outer portion of one of the can delivering containers.

The cabinet 1 is preferably made to rest upon the floor of the room and to reach as high as is convenient for the attendant. In the lower portion of the cabinet are the containers 2 for the canned goods. These are preferably of sheet metal and comprise a long shelf or chute 3 formed with an upstanding rim or flange 4 at each lateral edge. As shown in Fig. 1, these shelves 3 are slightly inclined, being higher at their rear ends, so that the cans, as 5, placed therein in the manner shown in Fig. 4, will roll toward the lower ends thereof, but are kept from falling therefrom by an upcurved end ortion 6 on each.

These she ves or chutes 3 being filled with canned goods, each chute bearing those of like brand, all that the attendant needs to do is to reach for the can or cans called for, the places of those removed bein at once filled gravitationally by those behlnd.

For the packaged goods, I prefer to provide a series of shelves 8 longltudinally disposed in the upper part of the cabinet, each of a proper height and width to conveniently receive a particular size and brand of the oods. These are also preferably made 0 sheet metal, and each is formed with a longitudinal depression or groove 7 within which is a feeder bar 9, as shown in Fig. 3. Each bar carries several -light pawls 18 loosely pivoted thereto, as at 10, and having a counterweighted tail 1 1 for giving it a normally elevated position. Each bar is given as many of these. pawls as there are to be packages above it distributed along the shelf.

For reciprocating these bars and thereby bringing the packages to the front ends of the shelves, each bar is provided with a cord attached to its front end, such cord 12 assing over a small pulley 13 to a point wit in convenient reach of the attendant, and having a ring or other easily seized object 14 at its extremity, as shown in Fig. 2. A cord 15 is attached to the rear end of each bar and passes over a pulley 16 to a suitable weight, so that after a bar has been drawn forward a short distance by its cord 12, the weight 17 will return it to its normal position.

To obtain one of the packages, as 19, from ready to push the row forward and dislodge the outermost package when the cord is again pulled down.

In this manner, the pawls which have been held horizontal by the. superposed packages will rise one by one behind the rearmost package as the row of packages is shortened, and so push the latter an equal distance every time the cord is drawn down.

Not only can a large quantity of packages be thus in easy reach of the salesman, but by elongating the cords 12 the shelves 6 may extend to 'a height far beyond the reach of the attendant. Moreover, he does not need to hunt for a pole with which to poke down one of a few distributed along a shallow shelf, as is the present custom.

I find that this arrangement of the goods serves another useful purpose in permitting an exact tally to be kept of the articles sold.

- To do this, a little tally or counter is located beside each shelf, the counter-arm 21 being disposed in the path of the article being removed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. In this way every time an article is taken from a shelf of the cabinet, it is registered so that the total number indicated on the for causing other articles automatically to take the places of those dislodged.

2. A cabinet comprising an elongated structure containing longitudinally disposed shelves therein, and means in each shelf adapted to give a step-by-step movement to articles placed therein, and a pendant link connected with each means, whereby a pull upon said link will cause the expulsion of amaze the outermost of the articles and a replacement movement of the remainder.

3. A cabinet comprising an elongated pivoted pawl having a ,counterweighted tail for giving the pawl a normally elevated angle.

5. A cabinet comprising a shelf having a longitudinally disposed groove therein, a bar slidable in said groove, a series of detents spaced upon the bar and adapted to engage articles placed upon the shelf and to give them a step by-step movement when the bar is reciprocated, a pulley supported in line with each end of the bar, a weighted cord attached to one end of the bar and passing over the pulley thereat for the retraction of the bar, and a cord attached to the other end of the bar and passing over the pulley into reach of an attendant thereat.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention, l[ have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of September, 1916.

1 '1 ONIRAM BIRD COUGH.

Witnesses:

(3. E. How, A. B. lllrnram. 

